How much have the Clemson Tigers improved over the course of a month? After getting blown out at LSU, Clemson has rattled off three wins over lesser competition. While beating Georgia Southern, UNC, and Cal should give Dabo Swinney's team plenty of confidence, the Miami Hurricanes are a different animal. However, Kirk Herbstreit just compared the Tigers favorably to the Oregon Ducks.
"Last week, we had a chance to see a team get a do-over. That was Oregon ... All of a sudden, we all have a different perception of Oregon. To me, that team is Clemson this week," Herbstreit said about Clemson during College GameDay. "The way they played against LSU. They've kind of fixed some things, kind of on the back burner. Now, they go back to that huge stage. Not on the road, but hosting the Miami Hurricanes. Kind of a mulligan for Dabo and that team. See if they can take advantage of it."
Oregon did not look like a high-quality team against Boise State and Oklahoma State out of the gate. The Broncos pushed the Ducks around, while the Cowboys handed Dan Lanning's team a stunning upset loss in Stillwater. Clemson may not be on Oregon's level, but the way we view the Ducks after they beat USC in Los Angeles could be on the same level if Clemson were to upset Miami in Week 5 .
Clemson has a chance to get a do over at home today against Miami pic.twitter.com/auznKkCH9H
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) October 3, 2026
Clemson will have no margin for error in its potential upset bid of Miami
So much has to go right for Clemson to pull off the upset bid of the Canes. Not only do the Tigers need to lean on Gideon Davidson in the ground game, but they have to slow down Darian Mensah on defense. He lit the Clemson defensive backfield up like a Christmas tree a year ago, and he did that as a member of the Duke Blue Devils. Clemson can ruin Miami's bid to perfection, but it won't come easy.
Simply, Clemson cannot beat Clemson. There is virtually no margin for error for Swinney's team on Saturday. Herbstreit is right that Clemson looks to be a far better-coached team a month in than it was at the start of the season. However, there is still a sizable gap between the Tigers and the Canes in the ACC hierarchy. Both might be 2-0 to start out league play, but only one of them can get to 3-0.
The good news for Clemson is that this game will be at home and in bad weather. Herbstreit believes that the home crowd could play to Clemson's advantage. As it is with any game being played out in the elements, it always helps the worse team by taking away the better team's greatest attributes. Clemson may be adept at making halftime adjustments, but it cannot get way behind Miami early.
In short, if Clemson can keep this game within two scores at halftime, the Tigers may have a long enough runway to pull off the comeback and monumental upset. However, if the first half versus Miami goes anything like it did at LSU over Labor Day Weekend, Clemson will be 3-2 (2-1) heading into a bye week before FCS Charleston Southern comes to town. Will it be this week's Oregon or not?
Clemson has worked its tail off to gain momentum after its Week 1 crash, but cannot slip up again.
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